Board members
Christine has worked successfully in the corporate environment for over 30 years. She uses her experience and leadership skills to make an impact and bring about positive change.
Christine is the past Chair of the Board of Trustees for Waltham Forest YMCA. She served as Chair from 2014-2016. She also served as Chair of the Services Committee from 2013-2016. With over 20 years’ experience working in the legal profession she currently works as the Director of Finance & Administration in a leading set of barristers’ chambers. Christine is a member of the Advisory Board for Richard Branson’s Centre of Entrepreneurship in Jamaica supporting and advising young entrepreneurs in their business development journey.
Christine is an experienced mentor and coach and has supported many young people in transitioning from a negative place to a positive place, enabling them to face their challenges, address their fears and embrace and celebrate who they are! Christine is passionate about empowering and motivating young people and providing them with the right tools which results in healthy lifestyle choices and positive mind-set changes. She believes that everyone has a talent, gift or skill that can add value and make a difference to someone else.
Marjorie has been volunteering as a board member since 2017, she is currently Vice Chair of the board and in addition supports with issues related to safeguarding and HR.
Marjorie has been working in the area of Learning and Development for the past 19 years. During which time she has worked as a Management Training Consultant and college lecturer.
Marjorie has a real passion for educating young people to realise their true potential. As a management training consultant, Marjorie has been contracted by a number of voluntary and statutory organisations to specifically work with young people, who were considered by schools to lack academic attainment or academically bright but needed the skills to build confidence and self-esteem. In addition her programmes also equipped young people with skills such as leadership, and working in a team, to name a few.
Marjorie strongly believes that every young person, given encouragement and support can turn their life around regardless of their family background or the environment they live in.
Fitzroy’s 40-year career encompasses a diversity of roles and interests taking in leadership of local and national charities and social enterprises, organisational consulting, and developing people at all ages and stages of life. He currently works as an independent career coach; as an associate director for a number of consultancy practices; and with the Office for Institutional Equity at the University of East London.
As a native east Londoner, Fitzroy has a longstanding commitment to youth leadership and development, and he continues to assist the growth of a number of agencies in the field. His combined experience and knowledge and his passion for learning and growth give him a wealth of resources to draw upon and a natural affinity with serving Spark2Life, where he has occupied the role of Treasurer since 2018.
Emmanuel Gotora has a passion for strengthening civil society institutions and winning change. He is Lead Organiser for Citizens UK’s founding chapter, The East London Citizens Organisation (TELCO), and North London Citizens, both representing 140 civil society organisation across 13 London boroughs. He also supervises Citizens UK’s Leeds Chapter.
Through his work as a Community Organiser in east London, Emmanuel he has trained thousands of community leaders to win change including: winning the Living Wage campaign for 150 cleaners at the University of East London; pioneering a community-based recruitment model which placed over 1,500 local people into jobs for the London 2012 Olympics; leading Citizen UK’s national Just Money campaign for affordable credit.
Our Patrons
Lord Dr Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE is an Independent Peer in the House of Lords and has had a fulfilling career across the public, private, and non-profit sectors, working within education, philanthropy, and business to support and develop communities around the world. He is the Chairman of SOAS, University of London and the recent Chancellor of Regent's University London; he is the Professor of Leadership at the Stephen R Covey Institute at the Huntsman Business School, University of Utah, USA; a Non-Executive Director at Saxton Bampfylde, the Executive Search firm and is Chair of the London Chamber of Commerce Black Business Association & an NED on Cornerstone VC Fund & Chairman - Adrian Group in Kenya ( operating in 9 African countries & Germany & UK )
He is also a Vice President at UNICEF UK, an Ambassador for Tear Fund and Chair of the Council of ZANE (Zimbabwe Aid) and a former trustee for the Africa Philanthropy Foundation. Lord Hastings was formerly Head of Public Affairs at the BBC and their first head of Corporate Social Responsibility 1996-2006 having done live political presenting for two years previously. He then moved to KPMG as the Global Head of Citizenship for KPMG International 2006 – 2019 and was a Trustee of the Vodafone Group Foundation 2008-2019 and subsequently remains a Governor of the Vodafone/Safaricom M-PESA Academy in Nairobi for 600+ of Kenya’s poorest children. He is an enthusiastic advocate for the SDG’s – the 17 Sustainable Development Goals the world must reach by 2030 to give dignity to all. He also served on BT’s Responsible Business Board 2007-2016.
Lord Hastings began his career as a teacher in 1980 having graduated in Theology from the London School of Theology in 1979 and then from Westminster College Oxford in Education in 1980 & then from 1986 worked across government agencies on policies to build racial equality, workforce development, and safer and more effective crime prevention strategies. He was the founder and Chairman of Crime Concern from 1988 to 2009 and then founded CATCH22 as a merger and remains Vice President and was the longest serving Commissioner for Racial Equality from 1990 to 1999 and the first Black member of the Metropolitan Police Committee from 1994. He is the co-founder of My Brothers Keeper – a voluntary direct engagement work started in HMP Swaleside 9 years ago (now on our 41th visit) and serving seven prisons from YOI to Cat A,B &C prisons.
He was conferred with a CBE for his services to crime reduction in 2003; a Peerage in 2005; The UNICEF Global Award in 2005 for his tireless work effective positive solutions for Africa’s children; a Doctorate in Civil Law from the University of Kent, Canterbury in 2014 in recognition for his leadership at KPMG, the BBC and for his work in international development and corporate responsibility and in 2019 was the first ever recipient of the Stephen R Covey Leadership Award for a life built on principles, values and pragmatic delivery.
